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"Ok Google" not working? Here's how to fix it

Google Assistant was supposed to help us all exist in a futuristic utopia where we carried our own permanently available assistants in our pockets. But this is real life, not science fiction and sometimes the best tech just doesn't work. Some Android users have found that the feature has just left them repeating the phrase "Ok Google" over and over again into an unresponsive phone, no doubt drawing some strange looks in the process.

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1. Check if you're not alone

I can be good to know when the problem is on Google's side rather than yours. Check Twitter, Reddit and Google's support forums to see if other users are complaining that "OK Google" and "Hey Google" voice detection has stopped working on their phones.

Sometimes the most common solution, to simply retrain Voice Match to fix OK Google detection, isn't working because the options to do so in the settings are grayed out. In this case, when you've gone through the options detailed below, you'll just have to wait for a fix to be rolled out by Google. Be warned, Google doesn't always announce these fixes promptly, so keep an eye on the online communities.

2. Check your language settings

If Google Assistant isn't responding to you, maybe it is because you're speaking the wrong language. US English will be the default language for many users, but it's still worth checking in the Settings menu and altering as required. To do this, go to the Google app and then its main menu, then go to Settings > Voice (under Search), and then select the appropriate language(s) from the Voice menu.

There you will see dozens of language options, each one with a checkbox, so you can set primary and secondary languages if desired. Google will automatically detect which language you're speaking and switch between them automatically. If you're multilingual, be warned that voice recognition for languages other than English can sometimes be subpar.

3. Check the microphone on your device

As a voice-based system, Google Assistant relies on uninterrupted access to your smartphone's microphone. When you open the Google app, the microphone icon on the right-hand side of the search bar should appear bold, with fully-formed lines. If it has a dotted line, you may have a problem with your microphone.

This may be caused by debris in the small microphone hole often found next to the charging port – have a careful poke around with a safety pin or similar to clear it out and you'll often fix the problem. If that doesn't work, check the microphone settings within the Google app.

Occasionally, apps running in the background are making noises which may interfere with the microphone picking up your voice, so check these too – and close any that you think may be making noise.

4. Disable S Voice or Bixby if you have a Samsung

Although there is no clear reason why, it appears as though Google Assistant is not always compatible with Bixby (or the older S Voice app) on Samsung phones. If you have a Samsung with Bixby or S Voice installed and would prefer to use Google's voice assistant instead, your best bet might be to disable Bixby or S Voice on your device entirely. To do this, just locate the app icon for S Voice or Bixby and then long press it and select Disable.

5. Rule out all the simple fixes

This may be stating the obvious, but Google Assistant does need Wi-Fi or mobile data to operate, so make sure your device is connected before you try a search. Also, and this is probably the oldest advice in the book, it never hurts to do a quick reboot – sometimes magic really does happen. And last but not least, check to make sure "Ok Google" detection is actually turned on. To do this, open the Google app and then its main menu, then go to Settings > Voice (under Search) > "Voice Match" detection. From there, toggle the feature on.

205 comments

My google assistant was working perfectly until today... First of all, I got a google home today and was setting it up. In the meantime, my phone went through a reboot and update. So I had to wait to set up my google home till my phone restarted. Then while setting up my Google Home, My son decided to be a smart a** and said "ok google" and it responded to him! It was supposed to respond only to my voice. I muted the microphone on my Home, and asked my son to say it again. He did, and my phone responded to him. He then asked it what his name was and it gave my name. So i started researching. I tried to retrain the voice recognition after deleting the voice models, it kept telling me it already recognized my voice and would not allow me to retrain it. I then cleared google cache and other settings and tried to retrain it. Well, this time, it would not respond at all to anyone saying "ok google" so now, i am waiting for my phone to charge enough to set it back to factory settings.

SOLVED FOR ME ANYWAYgoogle assistant voice is not working properly on may phones ... "access with voice match" being greyed out, then when you try to change that and do a new voice it won't let you, initially saying unable to access microphone, but later attempts not saying that and just not accepting your voice ... I lost 20 hours of my life trying to find the solution online and trying heaps of supposed solutions .... this is the only thing that worked for me, did it by semi-logical-accident.

The solution was to turn OFF the microphone permission for the main GOOGLE app AND LEAVE IT OFF!!! ... Then when I went to do my next voice recognition, it popped something up that asked me to ALLOW access to the Microphone, which I did and it worked :)

If your "Ok Google is not working" then follow this procedure. 10000% working guarentee. For samsung S9+ and other devices.

Go to setting -> search for " device assistance app" -> click on the search result and select the google -> now go back to main setting page and search for voice match in google setting -> select access with voice match -> Bang -> its start working. 100% working.

OnePlus6 user here and Ronald Larsen's Top/Favourite comment on this post...it worked for me very smoothly! I just didn't re-update the Google app yet. I'll update once I do. Even my Google voice assistant stopped responding to "ok/hey Google" outside the voice assistant app, randomly one day. I'm thinking it was because of the Android Pie update maybe, but anyway, Google app update rollback to factory version worked!

My issue started after my phone (LG v20) updated to Android oreo. The commands "Hey Google" and "Ok Google" are detected by my device then the search pop-up will come up but the voice recording chime doesn't come up. So even if I speak after the two commands and I see the four colored dots at the bottom move as I speak, my inquiry does not get through. Still have to press the mic icon to get my voice commands and questions to work. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I had the same problem....Ok Google works always, but today no! After retraining and trying to play with the Voice Settings, it turned out that it just doesn't work WHEN BATTERY SAVER IS ON. Switch it off and bingo it works again.

My ' hey Google' is not working, Nokia 7 plus. It's on Android p and I've tried retaining voice. The recorder just keeps searching for voice command. However, in the normal mode when I open Google assistant through screen two, the recorder works fine for other commands. Please help.

I travel a lot use my "Hey Google". The latest software update I lost Google assistant. I have a Samsung Galaxy 9+. I tried everything mentioned and no luck. When I am in the voice section, "retrain voice" is grayed out. I also can not select " I hold down the home key and google comes up, but i have to tap the microphone icon and then google assistant works. It should be hands free.

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